Obama: âThere are those who say these plans are too ambitious.â Obama: âI know some folks on Wall Street who say we should just focus on their problems.â Obama: âThere are those embrace a view that can be summarized in two words: anything goes.â Obama: âThere seem to be a set of folks, and I donât doubt their sincerity, who just believe we should do nothing.â Obama: â"I reject the view that . . . says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity." Obama: "A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy." Obama: "We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord." Obama: âThere are those who insist that we be defined by our differences.â Obama: "Of course, there are some critics, always critics, who say we can't afford to take on these priorities.â Obama: "A philosophy that says every problem can be solved if only government would step out of the way; that if government were just dismantled, divvied up into tax breaks, and handed out to the wealthiest among us, it would somehow benefit us all. Such knee-jerk disdain for government -- this constant rejection of any common endeavor -- cannot rebuild our levees or our roads or our bridges." Straw Manâs influence in Washington is at an all time high. He deserves to be the person of the year.